US drilling activity continues to drop

By OGJ editorsHOUSTON, Dec. 28 -- US drilling activity declined for the third straight week, down 27 units to 1,782 rotary rigs working vs. 1,710 during the same period in 2006, Baker Hughes Inc. reported.

All of the losses were in land drilling, down 28 rigs to 1,690 making hole. Inland water activity was unchanged with 29 rotary rigs working. Offshore drilling showed the only increase, up 1 rig to 63 drilling federal offshore leases, including 61 in the Gulf of Mexico.

Texas reported the biggest drop among major producing states, down 23 rigs to 871 still drilling. New Mexico lost 4 to 68. Colorado, California, and Alaska dropped 2 rigs each to 102, 35, and 7, respectively. Louisiana was down 1 rig to 158. Oklahoma's rig count increased by 2 to 198; Wyoming was up 4 to 69.

Canada's weekly rig count plunged by 112 rotary rigs to only 260 units still drilling. That's down from the 429 rotary rigs that were working at this time last year.